New Year's celebrations spills out onto Jakarta's streets
New Year's celebrations spills out onto Jakarta's streets
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
New Year's Eve in Jakarta was probably not much different from
festivities held elsewhere in the world. Hordes of people, crowds
blowing trumpets and making as much noise as possible, people
selling all kinds of trinkets imaginable, the countdown and of
course, the fireworks.
Markedly missing from the festivities here as opposed to, say,
in Sydney, were the numerous crates of beer and roadblocks for
alcohol control.
Instead, huge stages were erected in public places to cater to
the local craze for music, particularly dangdut, a local musical
genre mixing Arabic and Indian influences.
Besides the enormous entertainment events at Monas and Ancol,
smaller -- but no less festive -- events were also held
elsewhere, including at Taman Ria Senayan, South Jakarta, in the
front parking lot of state television station TVRI, also in South
Jakarta, and at Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM), Central Jakarta.
The A Mild Live Year End Bizarre held at Taman Ria Senayan
boasted a bizarre night at the beach with music provided by
popular bands Naif and Shaggydog, a magic show by Dedy Corbuzier
and the mixing talents of DJ Romy from 1945 Music Factory.
True to its promise of a night at the beach, a large portion
of Taman Ria Senayan was covered with sand, dotted with palm
trees and hosted a beach volleyball court.
Besides the main attractions on two stages, other
entertainment included basketball games, billiards, wall
climbing, fortuneteller tents and street magicians.
However, since the main draws of the evening -- Naif and
magician Dedy Corbuzier -- did not come on until 10 p.m., the
crowd did not begin to amass until well after 9 p.m. and many of
the smaller, lesser known bands were left to belt out their songs
to a sparing audience.
Besides, the average Jakartan most likely shied away after
finding out that the entry ticket cost Rp 75,000 (US$9) per
person, especially since there was free entertainment right next
door at TVRI.
Usually the venue of the popular weekly live television
program Dangdut Pro, the parking lot of the television station
that night held a special New Year's Eve program with not only
dangdut music, but also rock 'n' roll.
Dangdut Pro has always been a major attraction for people
living in and around the Palmerah and Senayan area, and the show
is known to cause traffic jams every Wednesday night. But on New
Year's Eve that Wednesday, the program surpassed itself.
More than 1,000 people flocked to the television station on
Jl. Gerbang Pemuda, Senayan, which turned the road into a
quagmire of motorcycles, cars and jostling crowds.
Getting to Taman Ismail Marzuki in Cikini, Central Jakarta,
from South Jakarta was a struggle of its own. The roads were so
jam-packed it was difficult even for pedestrians. Taxis would not
pick up passengers, and the only transportation left was the
three-wheeled bajaj, or motorized pedicab. Riding a bajaj in a
fierce traffic jam is not comfortable, to say the least. It is a
lot faster than a taxi in such conditions, but since the vehicle
has a low body and is open-aired, exhaust from other vehicles
have free reign to wreck your lungs.
With an aim to Berbagi Ruang Keriangan (Share a Happy Space),
the Jakarta Arts Council provided various kinds of entertainment
throughout the spacious arts complex, from the modern to the
traditional.
A group of local Brazilian martial artists, or caporiste,
showed their stuff on the grounds outside Graha Bhakti Budaya
hall, and a traditional comedy group from Cirebon was ready to
tickle the funny bones of passersby in the parking lot.
Clowns, fortune tellers, a merry-go-round and ferris wheel,
and a layar tancap, or outdoor movie screen, were also provided,
complete with the usual fare of cotton candy and popcorn.
On the main stage were dance performances, magic shows, a
poetry reading, dramatic monologues and skits.
"I come here every day to play, it's fun. For this new year, I
just want to be able to get into a state high school," said 11-
year-old Heru while donning his colorful mask. Instead of blaring
trumpets, visitors at TIM were encouraged to wear masks.
As the clock neared midnight, the crowd split and milled
around three venues at TIM -- the stage at the entrance, the
installation art piece in the middle of the complex, and the main
stage in the inner courtyard.
When the clock struck 12 o'clock, the entrance stage came
alive with the launch of 12Pas! (12 o'clock sharp), a musical and
arts show that plays every Saturday night at 12 a.m.
Unfortunately, I was stuck at the installation art, which was
a small podium with bamboo steps going up to a papier mache
globe.
A man in a suit was there, climbing up as the countdown ticked
away. Everybody gazed up in anticipation -- the man in the suit
held a clock that was five minutes slow -- waiting to see what he
would do once his clock struck midnight.
When 2004 finally arrived, he took out a model of a white dove
and moved it as though it was taking flight. And that was it ...
that was my New Year's Eve.